Vishwa Konkani Sardar Basti Vaman Shenoy no more

Mangaluru: Basti Vaman Shenoy, the founder and co-chairman emeritus of Konkani Bhas Ani Sanskriti Prathistan, World Konkani Centre, passed away on Sunday, due to age-related illness. He was 86.
His mortal remains will be kept for the public to pay their homage at the World Konkani Centre, Shakti Nagar, from 9am to 10am on Monday. He will be cremated in Bantwal after that. He is survived by two sons, a daughter and grandchildren. He had a large family of followers and well-wishers, and thousands of scholars have been beneficiaries of the Vishwa Konkani Student Scholarship programme.
Known as the Vishwa Konkani Sardar (World Konkani Leader), he was born on November 6, 1934 at Bantwal, 25 km from here.Though he wanted to pursue higher education and become a teacher, after completing his matriculation in 1952 from the SVS High School, he had to join his father to help in his business, due to the financial difficulties faced by the family. For a brief period, he also worked in Canara Bank. After his father’s death in 1957, the responsibility of taking care of the whole family, fell on his shoulders.
Shenoy is revered as the doyen of the Konkani language movement. He founded the World Konkani Centre in 2009 at Shakti Nagar, under the auspices of Konkani Bhas Ani Sanskriti Prathistan.
He served as the president of the prathistan from its inception in 1996 till 2021, and was serving as the co-chairman emeritus thereafter. During his remarkable tenure, he was instrumental in bringing together Konkani people spread across various castes, religions and regions, in the service of the mother tongue. Under his leadership, the World Konkani Centre spearheaded several programmes for the preservation of Konkani language and culture, as well as the welfare of Konkani-speaking communities.
His career as an activist of the Konkani language has been remarkable. After his retirement from Syndicate Bank in 1992, as the president of Konkani Bhasha Mandal Karnataka, he organised the World Konkani Convention in 1995, bringing together all factions of Konkani-speaking communities across the globe. He was conferred with the title of ‘Vishwa Konkani Sardar’ for this remarkable feat.
He strove for the recognition of the Konkani language, and its inclusion in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution of India, thanks to which we see the Konkani language in every currency note that is in circulation in India.
The Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy was formed by the government of Karnataka, based on the demands of the Konkani people, which was ably conveyed to the government under the leadership of Shenoy. He also served as the president of the academy from 1997 to 2001.
He was conferred with the Karnataka Rajyothsava Award in 2010, and several other accolades for his relentless service towards the Konkani language and culture.
The Konkani Bhas Ani Sanskriti Prathistan has instituted Shri Basti Vaman Shenoy Vishwa Konkani Seva Puraskar for outstanding public service by Konkani people.
His membership to the Konkani Bhasha Mandal, Karnataka, dates back to 1980, but it was in 1992, after his retirement from his banking career, that he devoted himself completely to activities for the Konkani cause. Paul Moras, the then president of the mandal, entrusted him the post of organising secretary of the Konkani Jatha, a movement for organising people to demand for the establishment of a Konkani Academy. He, along with others, toured extensively to organise ‘jathas’ in several cities in Karnataka, submitting a memorandum demanding for a Konkani Academy for the state, to the state government in October 1992. In 1993, he became the president of the Konkani Bhasha Mandal Karnataka. He was instrumental for the Konkani language to be taught in Canara High School here. He rigorously lobbied the state government for the establishment of a Konkani Academy. Because of his efforts in 1994-95, the then chief minister Veerappa Moily announced the establishment of Konkani Academy in the state. Thus Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy came into existence.
Shenoy was also involved in the activities of the Indian National Congress and its trade union wing INTUC, in Bantwal between 1954 and 1962, and during this period he was influenced by T A Pai. Shenoy was instrumental in founding Saraswathi Kala Prasarak Sangh and Saraswathi Sangeeth Shala Bantwal in 1958.